By Letisha Marrero
Washington, like the rest of the nation, is experiencing pandemic-related job losses and record unemployment. Prior to COVID-19, Washington was experiencing significant job growth — so much so that Washington had the fastest growing economy in 2018. According to a new report by The Education Trust, the way to get back to being a job leader is by making significant efforts to educating each child—regardless of skin color, country of origin, language spoken at home or family’s income.
In Right Direction. Miles to Go: Closing the Widening Achievement Gaps in Washington State, Ed Trust leverages a series of metrics to make a poignant argument for state, district, and school leaders to act to improve the educational experiences and pathways of the state’s most underserved students to maintain and increase job growth. The report also provides a sobering snapshot of gaps in achievement across the state:
• In 2019, 1 in 9 students did not graduate. Washington is doing far worse for its students of color and students from low-income backgrounds. One in 7 Black students, 3 in 20 Latino students, 1 in 4 Native students, and 1 in 6 students from low-income backgrounds did not graduate high school.
• For those students who stay in high school, Washington school systems are failing to prepare many of them for postsecondary education. In 2019, 1 in 4 Latino students and 1 in 5 Black students who took the SAT met the college-ready benchmarks in reading.
• And at the elementary school level, fewer than two-thirds of Washington’s fourth graders are reading on grade level. Results for students of color, students from low-income backgrounds, students with disabilities, English learners, and migrant students are substantially lower on National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) — a highly regarded measure of academic achievement.
“This report provides vital data and context for many of the challenges we face in Washington state —highlighting the imperative that we focus on students most impacted by injustice in our educational systems if we want to see real change,” Julia Warth, director of policy and research, League of Education Voters.
As research shows, gaps in achievement are directly correlated to gaps in opportunity. The report acknowledges that Washington has taken steps in the right direction in recent years, including 1) ensuring that deserving students are placed into advanced courses; 2) revising discipline policies; 3) expanding dual-language education; and 4) investing $250,000 in a pilot program that supports five school districts to create early warning systems that ensure ninth grade students are on track to graduate. The state needs to continue in this direction to address educational equity concerns, and move more swiftly. Much more needs to be done to make sure every child in Washington has the foundation to thrive in and beyond high school, and be prepared to be part of the workforce needed to regain Washington’s once vibrant economy.
